What time of year to see whales?

[LSUcajunmom]

When is the best time of yr to sail to Alaska to see the whales?

[cruisetexas]

We sailed the third week of July and took a shore excursion out of Juneau. It was fabulous and we saw many whales, a pod of which came up to our boat and then under and up on the other side. Wow, once in a lifetime event!

 

This was the group we used and they were very kind to our group of sixteen, ranging in age from 2-85.

 

Have fun!

 

http://www.orcaenterprises.com/

[spacepotatoes]

The summer months. I think mid-late June through September, maybe October. During the winter months, you'll have to book a cruise to Hawaii ;)

[Rottweiler Puppy]

I would love to see wild whales

[hermitstyle]

I saw whales from my balcony and sitting at the big windows in the casino on my Glory cruise last week. We were heading to Grand Turk. It was the most awesome experience ever. I know it's not Alaska, but I just had to share my experience :P

[cathhduh]

we saw whales in the Atlantic in August, i know its not Alaska, but the atlantic does get cold :)

 

seems that summer is your best bet, wouldnt dare go to alaska if it wasnt summer myself though! i dont do well in the cold:o

[LSUcajunmom]

I know you can see them in Cabo. When is the best time for that also?

[spacepotatoes]

I know you can see them in Cabo. When is the best time for that also?

 

Also the winter months. They migrate seasonally so the summer months are spent up north, then in the fall they head south. My only whale watching experience so far has been in Puerto Vallarta, in March. We saw a few tails, but not much more. I'd love to see them up close sometime!

[miched]

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A word of advise doing an Alaskan cruise. Book your excursions at the dock. It is safe as it is an American port. You will save money and get a better excursion.

 

If you book a excursion on board and the weather is terrible you are out of luck, no refunds and you end up being miserable and not seeing anything. One couple signed up for the sub excursion on board. It was raining and the water was rough so the underwater visibility was about zero because of it. They didn't see anything and couldn't get a refund.

 

The tour people in the booths at the piers will be honest and tell you what is worth taking.

 

 

We did a float plane that only had 2 other passengers, a helicopter with 2 others, and a river raft/rain forest. All of them were cheaper and longer. The river raft guide even took us on a little side excursion when taking us back in the van and then dropped us off at the Skagway Bar/brewery where he also bar tended in the evening. We got a little discount on the food and beverages and had a great time there.

 

 

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[miched]

Dulicate post.

[themnms]

When is the best time of yr to sail to Alaska to see the whales?

 

 

in Alaska it is in the summer!!

[kingoftheicedragons]

We saw right whales and a large pod of humpback whales from the ship's deck in late August, but if you want a better chance of seeing whales including killer whales, you'd want an excursion.

 

Be careful of waiting until you get to Alaska to book your excursion. I don't remember any excursion booths at all in Skagway, and you definitely want to make sure you have an excursion there, as it's a very small town and you're there for a long time.

 

Down by San Diego, Ensenada, and Cabo, you should be able to see whales in January. I think we saw grey whales there.

[LSUcajunmom]

Thanks so much!!

[SadieN]

Victoria has resident orcas. Can see them any time of year.

[SunnyDayz4me]

We did the Alaska cruise in May 2010 and the whales were just arriving in the North....still saw lots of them :)

 

[jkmcmom]

We sailed in May of '09 thru SE Alaska. The humpbacks are in the area May-Sept for the food source. We didn't book any excursions thru the ship but did our planning ahead of time mainly right here on CC. We did a whale watching tour out of Juneau with alaskagalore dot com. It was great! There were only 6 of us on the tour! The boat could hold if I remember up to 16. We saw humpbacks, a harbor seal & eagles! We also went by a beautiful lighthouse & saw a couple of glaciers from the water. After our whale watch, we had asked for Alaska Galore's trnsportation to drop us off at Mendenhall Glacier. We took a taxi back to town & stopped to try some of the local Alaskan Amber! It was a full day!